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North Carolina Tar Heels
The North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball program is the intercollegiate men's basketball of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and is considered one of the most successful programs in NCAA history.http://assets.espn.go.com/photo/2009/1004/cbe1.pdf The Tar Heels have won five NCAA Tournament Championships (1957, 1982, 1993, 2005 and 2009) and were retroactively named the national champions by the Helms Athletic Foundation for their undefeated season in 1924. North Carolina's five NCAA Tournament Championships is tied for third-most all-time. They have also won 17 Atlantic Coast Conference tournament titles and 28 Atlantic Coast Conference regular season titles (including an Atlantic Coast Conference record 18 outright Regular Season Championships). The program has produced players who went on to play professionally, including Michael Jordan, and assistants who went on to become head coaches elsewhere. It has a rivalry with Duke, whose campus is located only 11 miles away in Durham, North Carolina. The Tar Heels are curently #3 on the Division I all-time wins list. From the Tar Heels' first season in 1910–11 through the 2010–11 season, the Tar Heels have amassed a .737 all-time winning percentage (second highest all time behind Kentucky Wildcats), winning 2,033 games and losing 727 games in 101 seasons. The Tar Heels also have the most consecutive 20-win seasons, with 31 seasons from the 1970–71 season through the 2000–2001 season. On March 2, 2010, North Carolina became the second college basketball program to reach 2,000 wins in its history, behind the University of Kentucky. The Tar Heels are one of only three Division I Men's Basketball programs to have ever achieved 2,000 victories. The Tar Heels have appeared in the NCAA finals nine times, have participated in a record 18 NCAA Final Fours, have made it into the NCAA tournament 42 times (second-most all-time), and hold the record for all-time NCAA Tournament victories with 105 wins. North Carolina also won the National Invitation Tournament in 1971, has appeared in two NIT Finals, and has made five appearances in the NIT Tournament. Additionally, the team has been the number one seed in the NCAA Tournament 13 times, the latest being in 2009 (most #1 seeds all-time), has been ranked in the Top 25 in the AP Poll 703 times (1st all-time), has beaten #1 teams a record 12 times, has the most consecutive 20-win seasons, with 31, and has the most consecutive top-3 ACC finishes with 37. North Carolina ended the season in the Top 25 among Division 1 schools 42 times as ranked in the AP Poll and 44 times in the Coaches' Poll. The Tar Heels ended the season with a Number 1 ranking in the AP Poll and Coaches' Polls five times each. In 2008, the Tar Heels received the first unanimous preseason Number 1 ranking in the history of either the Coaches' Poll or the AP Poll. Team history Early years and the 1910–11 men's basketball team]] North Carolina played its first basketball game against Virginia Christian, on January 27, 1910, a 42–41 win for North Carolina.North Carolina Tar Heels Media Guide In 1921, North Carolina joined the Southern Conference.Southern Conference Fan Guide The 1924 Tar Heels squad went 26–0 and was retroactively awarded the national championship by the Helms Athletic Foundation in 1936.The Helms Foundation named its own national college basketball champion for each year from 1936 through 1982. The foundation also retroactively awarded championships from 1901 through 1935. While the 1924 team was undefeated, they did not play a single opponent from north of the Mason-Dixon Line; indeed, intersectional play would not start on a regular basis for another decade. However, the 1924 Tar Heels did beat the Kentucky Wildcats that season in a battle of what most considered the two best teams in the nation. Overall, the Tar Heels played 32 seasons in the Southern Conference from 1921 to 1953. During that period they won 304 games and lost 111 for a winning percentage of 73.3%. The Tar Heels were winners of the regular season for nine times and won the Southern Conference Championships eight times. Frank McGuire (1953–1961) In 1953, North Carolina split from the Southern Conference and became a founding member of the Atlantic Coast Conference.Official ACC Web Site The Tar Heels won their first NCAA Championship under coach Frank McGuire in 1957, led that year by Lennie Rosenbluth and several other transplants from the New York City area. C.D. Chesley, a Washington, D.C. television producer, piped the 1957 championship game in Kansas City to a hastily-created network of stations across North Carolina, which helped prove pivotal in basketball becoming a craze in the state.UNC-TV ONLINE: Biographical Conversations With: William Friday – Special Features The 1957 National Championship game versus Wilt Chamberlain's Kansas Jayhawks was the only triple overtime contest in championship history. In 1960, the Tar Heels were placed on NCAA probation for "improper recruiting entertainment" of basketball prospects—to date, the only time any sport at UNC has been sanctioned by the NCAA. As a result, they were barred from the 1961 NCAA tournamentLSDBi and also withdrew from the 1961 ACC Tournament. Following the season, Chancellor William Aycock forced McGuire to resign. As a replacement, Aycock selected one of McGuire's assistants, Kansas alumnus Dean Smith. Dean Smith (1961–1997) Smith's early teams were not nearly as successful as McGuire's had been. His first team went only 8–9, and his first five teams never won more than 16 games. This grated on a fan base used to winning; in 1965 some of them even hanged him in effigy. However, Smith would go on to take the Tar Heels to heights no one had even contemplated. When Smith retired in 1997, the Kansas graduate and Phog Allen disciple had the most wins ever of any NCAA Division I men's basketball coach with 879 wins, and the 9th highest winning percentage (77.6%)This record for the most wins would later be surpassed by Bob Knight in 2007. During Smith's time as head coach, North Carolina won the ACC regular season championship 17 times, won the ACC tournament 13 times, won the NIT in 1971, went to the NCAA tournament 27 times, appeared in 11 Final Fours, and won two NCAA national tournament titles, in 1982 and 1993. The 1982 National Championship team was led by James Worthy, Sam Perkins, and a young Michael Jordan. The 1993 National Championship team starred Donald Williams, George Lynch and Eric Montross. While at North Carolina, Smith helped promote desegregation by recruiting the University’s first African American scholarship basketball player Charlie Scott. Bill Guthridge (1997–2000) Smith unexpectedly retired before the start of practice for the 1997–98 season. He was succeeded by Bill Guthridge, who had been an assistant coach at the school for 30 years, the last 25 as Smith's top assistant. During Guthridge's three seasons as head coach he posted a 80–28 record, making him tied for the then-NCAA record for most wins by a coach after three seasons. The Tar Heels reached the NCAA Final Four twice, in the 1998 tournament and again in the 2000 tournament. North Carolina reached the Final Four in 2000 as an 8-seed, their lowest seeding in a Final Four appearance. Matt Doherty (2000–03) Guthridge retired in 2000 and North Carolina turned to Matt Doherty, the head coach at Notre Dame and a player on the 1982 championship team, to lead the Tar Heels.ESPN article on Doherty's acceptance of head coach at North Carolina Doherty had little success while at North Carolina. In his first season, the Heels were ranked #1 in the polls in the middle of the Atlantic Coast Conference schedule and finished with a 26–7 record. But Doherty's second season was the worst in recent history as the Tar Heels finished the season with a record of 8–20, missing postseason play entirely for the first time since the 1965–66 season (including a record 27 straight NCAA Tournament appearances) and finishing with a losing record for the first time since 1962 (Dean Smith's first year as coach). They also finished 4–12 in the ACC—only the program's second losing ACC record ever. The 12 losses were six more than the Tar Heels had ever suffered in a single season of ACC play, and placed them in a tie for 7th place—the program's first finish below fourth place ever. The season also saw the end of UNC's run of 31 straight 20-win seasons and 35 straight seasons of finishing third or higher in the ACC. After bringing in one of the top 5 incoming classes for the 2002–2003 season, the Tar Heels started the season by knocking off a top 5 Kansas team and going on to win the Preseason NIT and returning to the AP top 25. North Carolina went on to finish the season 17–15, missing the NCAA tournament. Matt Doherty led the Tar Heels to the third round of the NIT, where they ended their season with a loss to Georgetown. Roy Williams (2003–present) Despite the turnaround from the year before and the NIT appearance, at the end of the season Matt Doherty was replaced as head coach by Roy Williams. Williams had served as an assistant to Smith for 11 years before leaving to spend the first 15 years of his Hall of Fame head coaching career leading Kansas to 9 conference championships and four Final Fours before Smith convinced him to return home. In Williams' first season, the Tar Heels finished 19–11 and were ranked in a final media poll for the first time in three years. They returned to the NCAA tournament and were ousted in the second round by Texas. The following year, the Tar Heels won their fourth NCAA title and Williams' first as a head coach. After winning the championship, Williams lost his top seven scorers, but the 2005–06 season saw the arrival of freshman Tyler Hansbrough and Williams was named Coach of the Year. The Tar Heels swept the ACC regular season and tournament titles in 2007 and 2008. The 2008 ACC Tournament was the first time North Carolina has ever won the ACC Tournament without defeating at least one in-state rival during the tournament. North Carolina lost in the national semifinals of the 2008 NCAA tournament to Williams' former program Kansas. On April 6, 2009, the Tar Heels won their fifth NCAA title by defeating Michigan State. The Tar Heels won all six tournament games by at least 12 points, for an average victory margin of 20.2 points, and only trailed for a total of 10 minutes out of 240 through the entire tournament.http://www.tarheeltimes.com/schedulebasketball-2008.aspx Wayne Ellington was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player, the sixth Tar Heel so honored. The 2009–2010 Tar Heels finished the regular season with a 16–15 recordhttp://tarheelblue.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/sched/unc-m-baskbl-sched.html and lost in the first round of the ACC Tournament. The Tar Heels did not receive an NCAA tournament bid, and instead accepted a bid to the NIT. During the season, the Tar Heels reached the 2,000-win milestone with a home win over Miami on March 2, 2010, becoming the fastest college team to do so. Kentucky reached the milestone earlier that season, however they were in their 107th season of basketball when they accomplished the feat ( it was Carolina's 100th season). Streaks The Tar Heels own several notable streaks in the history of college basketball. They appeared in either the NCAA Tournament or National Invitation Tournament (NIT) every year from 1967 to 2001. This includes 27 straight appearances in the NCAA tourney from 1975 (the first year that competition allowed more than one team from a conference to get a guaranteed bid) to 2001—the longest such streak in tournament history. The Tar Heels also notched 37 straight winning seasons from 1964 to 2001, the third-longest such streak in NCAA history, behind UCLA's streak of 54 consecutive winning seasons from 1948 to 2001, and Syracuse's currently active streak of 39 seasons from 1971 to date. They also finished .500 or better for 39 years in a row from 1962 (Dean Smith's second year) to 2001, the third-longest such streak in NCAA history behind only Kentucky's record streak of 60 non-losing seasons from 1927 to 1988 (the Wildcats didn't field a team in 1952–53) and UCLA's 54-year run. From the ACC's inception in 1953 to 2001, the Tar Heels did not finish worse than a tie for fourth place in ACC play. From 1965 to 2001, they did not finish worse than a tie for third, and for the first 21 of those years they did not finish worse than a tie for second. By comparison, all of the ACC's other charter members finished first at least once and last at least once in that time. All of these streaks ended in the 2001–02 season, when the Tar Heels finished 8–20 on the season under coach Matt Doherty. They also finished tied for 7th in conference play, behind Florida State and Clemson—only their second losing conference record ever (the first being in the ACC's inaugural season). Additionally, the Tar Heels have an active 55 consecutive home game winning streak against Clemson, who has never beaten the Tar Heels in Chapel Hill since the first game between the two teams in 1926 at Chapel Hill (as of the 2010–11 season). The 55th consecutive win is an NCAA record in a head-to-head matchup. Until the 2010 ACC Tournament, North Carolina was the only program to have never played a Thursday game in the ACC Tournament since it expanded to a four-day format. Honored and retired jerseys Forty-three former North Carolina men's basketball players are honored in the Smith Center with banners representing their numbers hung from the rafters. Of the 43 honored jerseys, eight are retired. To have his jersey honored, a player must have met one of the following criteria : *MVP of a National Championship-winning team *Member of a gold medal-winning Olympic team *First- or second-team All-America *ACC Player of the Year *NCAA Tournament MOP To have his jersey retired, a player must win one of the following six widely recognized player of the year awards : *Associated Press Player of the Year *Oscar Robertson Trophy, formerly known as the United States Basketball Writers Association National Player of the Year *National Association of Basketball Coaches Player of the Year *''Sporting News'' Player of the Year *John R. Wooden Award *Naismith College Player of the Year Eight players (including Jack Cobb, whose jersey did not have a number) have had their jerseys retired. Tyler Hansbrough's number 50 is the eighth jersey to be retired, after he won all six major player of the year awards during the 2007–08 season. Notable players and coaches Awards at the Dean Smith Center]] National Coach of the Year: * Frank McGuire – 1957 * Dean Smith – 1977, 1979, 1982, 1993 * Bill Guthridge – 1998 * Matt Doherty – 2001 * Roy Williams – 2006 ACC Coach of the Year: * Frank McGuire – 1957 * Dean Smith – 1967, 1968, 1971, 1976, 1977, 1979, 1988, 1993 * Bill Guthridge – 1998 * Roy Williams – 2006, 2011 National Player of the Year: * Jack Cobb – 1924 * George Glamack – 1940, 1941 * Lennie Rosenbluth – 1957 * Phil Ford – 1978 * James Worthy – 1982 * Michael Jordan – 1984 * Kenny Smith – 1987 * Jerry Stackhouse – 1995 * Antawn Jamison – 1998 * Tyler Hansbrough – 2008 ACC Player of the Year: * Lennie Rosenbluth – 1957 * Pete Brennan – 1958 * Lee Shaffer – 1960 * Billy Cunningham – 1965 * Larry Miller – 1967, 1968 * Mitch Kupchak – 1976 * Phil Ford – 1978 * Michael Jordan – 1984 * Antawn Jamison – 1998 * Joseph Forte – 2001 (Shared with Duke's Shane Battier) * Tyler Hansbrough – 2008 * Ty Lawson – 2009 ACC Rookie of the Year: * Sam Perkins – 1981 * Michael Jordan – 1982 * J.R. Reid – 1987 * Ed Cota – 1997 * Joseph Forte – 2000 * Marvin Williams – 2005 * Tyler Hansbrough – 2006 * Brandan Wright – 2007 * Harrison Barnes - 2011 ACC Tournament MVP's: * Lennie Rosenbluth – 1957 * Larry Miller – 1967, 1968 * Charlie Scott – 1969 * Lee Dedmon (co-winner) – 1971 * Robert McAdoo – 1972 * Phil Ford – 1975 * John Kuester – 1977 * Dudley Bradley – 1979 * Sam Perkins – 1981 * James Worthy – 1982 * J.R. Reid – 1989 * Rick Fox – 1991 * Jerry Stackhouse – 1994 * Shammond Williams – 1997 * Antwan Jamison – 1998 * Brandan Wright – 2007 * Tyler Hansbrough – 2008 ACC Athletes of the Year: * Lennie Rosenbluth – 1957 * Larry Miller – 1967 * Charlie Scott (co-winner) – 1970 * Phil Ford – 1977, 1978 * James Worthy – 1982 * Michael Jordan – 1984 * Antwan Jamison – 1998 * Sean May – 2005 * Tyler Hansbrough – 2008 All-Americans (*) Denotes honorable mention All-Southern Conference All-ACC Players * The players are all first team All-ACC, unless otherwise noted * (*) Denotes 2nd Team All-ACC * (**) Denotes 3rd Team All-ACC Tar Heels inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame * To date nine Tar Heels have been inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame Tar Heels in the NBA Draft * North Carolina has produced 39 first-round picks in its history, more than any other ACC school * Since 1980, North Carolina has had 28 players selected in the first round of the NBA Draft, more than any other school in the country * Roy Williams has coached 19 first round draft picks Tar Heels with NBA championship rings Tar Heel NBA All-Star Game appearances * (*) Denotes All-Star Game MVP Tar Heels in the Olympics McDonald's All-Americans The following 58 McDonald's All-Americans have played for North Carolina:http://www.tarheeltimes.com/basketball/mcdonalds-all-americans.aspx NBA head coaches and executives *Larry Brown, former head coach of the Charlotte Bobcats *Michael Jordan, owner and president of basketball operations of the Charlotte Bobcats *George Karl, head coach of the Denver Nuggets *John Kuester, head coach of the Detroit Pistons *Mitch Kupchak, general manager of the Los Angeles Lakers *Donnie Walsh, general manager of the New York Knicks Other fields *James Delany, commissioner of the Big Ten Conference (1967–1970) *Julius Peppers, NFL defensive end for the Chicago Bears (1999–2001) *Richard Vinroot, former mayor of Charlotte, North Carolina (1961–1963) NBA Assistant Coaches: *Pat Sullivan – Detroit Pistons *Dave Hanners—Charlotte Bobcats *Phil Ford—Charlotte Bobcats *Mike O'Koren—New Jersey Nets *Bob McAdoo—Miami Heat *Joe Wolf—Milwaukee Bucks Milestone wins UNC junior varsity basketball team The UNC junior varsity basketball team was originally used at North Carolina as freshmen teams because freshmen were not allowed to play on the varsity team until the NCAA granted freshmen eligibility in the 1970s. After most schools decided to disband their J.V. squads, North Carolina's athletic department opted to keep the team so that non-scholarship students were given the chance to play basketball for UNC. North Carolina also uses their J.V. team as a way for varsity assistant coaches to gain experience as head coaches. Roy Williams was a J.V. coach for eight years before he was hired at Kansas. Students at UNC are only allowed to play on the team for two years, and then they are given a chance to try out for the varsity. The J.V. team also serves as a way for coaches to evaluate players for two years on the J.V. so they will better know what to expect when they try out for varsity later in their careers. UNC's J.V. team plays a combination of teams from Division II and III schools, some community colleges, and a few prep schools from around the North Carolina area. Seasons Records * NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament Consecutive Appearances Home venues *Bynum Gymnasium (1910–1924) *Tin Can (1924–1938) *Woollen Gymnasium (1938–1964) *Carmichael Auditorium (1965–1986) *Dean Smith Center (1986–present) Notes and references External links *University of North Carolina Tar Heels Official Athletic Site See Also *Logos Gallery - A gallery of logos that this team has used. Category:NCAA Division I schools Category:Atlantic Coast Conference members Category:Schools in North Carolina